I'm trying to decide between the sony a100 and the canon eos 400d. I'll need to take some photos where light might be a problem. Anyone know how the sony a100 is at dark photo shots? Which one is better/easier to take because I know that night photos require very steady hand movement.

It's definitely important because I require good photos consistently. For example 9/10 shots will come out reasonably in focus and good as opposed to another where 4/10 won't come out good. Though the 4/10 photo camera might be better quality pictures in terms of noise, I still would like the wider selection of the 9/10 shots. Of course the quality shouldn't be horrible for the more consistent camera either.

In terms of high ISO performance, both the Canon and Sony can go to 1600 ISO, but the Canon produces cleaner-looking, better quality results.

In terms of AF accuracy under dark conditions, both cameras have roughly the same potential, which means it's down to the particular lens you attach. If you use the kit lenses, I don't think there's much between them. if you upgrade to a brighter lens though, you'll enjoy superior focusing under dark conditions. For example, the Canon EF-S 17-55 f2.8 is a great lens for shooting under dark conditions. See our review here:

In terms of Anti-shake, the Sony of course has it built-in, whereas the Canon requires Image Stabilised lenses, such as the one mentioned above.

So if you were comparing the kits, you're really weighing up the Canon's high ISO quality against the Sony's built-in anti-shake. Remember anti-shake whether in the Sony body or a Canon lens though are only effective with static subjects. If the subject's in motion, you'll still need a fast enough shutter to eliminate any blur.

If you're really serious about shooting under dark conditions and have a higher budget, I'd recommend considering a lens designed for it.

Let us know what kind of subject you're taking though and we may be able to help more. Will you be using a flash for example? Do you have existing pictures which are either shaky, noisy or out of focus? Which of those three is the biggest problem on your existing shots, or ones you've seen?

The subjects will more or less be static and I won't be using flash cuz it'll draw the attention of people in a restaurant. It's a plate of food . It seems that the canon with the image stabilizer lens would be what I'm looking for. But I think that would cost quite a bit, which I don't have . camera + lens.

I'm looking for consistency under dark conditions without flash. Photos are no good if they don't come out out of focus which they often do with my current camera. It does seem that the image stabalizer in the canon lens helps in dark photos. How is the sony at night shots with just the standard lens? Is the noise unbearable?